Five Tales

Five Tales includes five novellas with intriguing counter-intuitive plots full of deceit, unethical practices, and aggression in large and small-scale crimes. NO HARM - A stubborn, crusty neurosurgeon with increasing Alzheimer's contracts illegally with colleagues to perform his surgeries and office visits. As he receives a medical society award, he collapses and dies. NO LUCK - The wife of a deceased surgeon, uncertain of her future, travels on a cruise ship. She falls in love with the ship's doctor, then learns of his corrupt practices to raise money for the care for his dying wife. Unwilling to wait for him after his prison sentence. THE PAPER PEOPLE I - In a ghastly experiment on homeless people, tattoos of literary works cover their entire bodies. Gangs fight it out in this dystopian nightmare as seen through the eyes of a middle-aged couple. An antidote finally removes the tattoos. THE PAPER PEOPLE II - The tattoos reappear so the Paper People strike back at the government and the murderous, drug-dealing gangs. A new antidote is found by a mad scientist, who reconstitutes the dead wife but insists that her husband die. WRONGHEADED - Large groups of rabbis, priests, and evangelical ministers are murdered in a plane crash, boat fire, and hotel convention. Speculation suggests Islamic radical terrorists are the culprits. Instead, the mass murders cover-up the slayings of just three individuals--due to sex abuse, domestic abuse, and financial abuse.